In round 9, Ehlvest clinched first place with a draw against Bannick, who he outrated by 400 points. The highest stakes game of the final round was between Alexander Shabalov and Anna Zatonskih. Alexander needed to win to salvage a bad tournament in which he lost to three lower rated players. But Anna had even more to play for: A win would secure her first GM norm!

According to Shabalov, Anna had a strategically winning endgame but she had trouble with the final execution. She stumbled majorly by allowing 73...Nxb3+!, a crushing tactic from Alex's suddenly roused knight. With this oversight, into the waves went her first GM norm. "Next time," Anna insisted.

The Curacao International is planned for 2007 at approximately the same dates. "We already have a nice roster of top professionals," said organizer Fabio Mensing, who is hoping to attract more amateur players from the United States. The party atmosphere can get the better of even champions, so it might just be your best chance to beat a Grandmaster.

Photo Gallery
The top three finishers from Curacao: FM Robert Ris, GM Jaan Ehlvest and IM Anna Zatonskih.